DEALERS AREN'T THE VICTIMS

One of the first cases the Supreme Court heard when it began its
current term involves the sentencing disparity between offenders
caught trafficking in crack cocaine versus the powdered form.

Under the current law enacted in 1986, a conviction for possessing 5
grams of the highly addictive crack cocaine carries a mandatory
minimum sentence of five years, while those caught with powder cocaine
have to possess at least 500 grams to receive the mandatory minimum.
Because more than 80 percent of those sentenced on the federal level
for crack cocaine are black, the justices will decide if the law is
discriminatory and whether judges are bound by sentencing guidelines.

While I think the law should be changed, it's important to remember
two things. First, in most states there is no distinction between the
crack and powder forms of cocaine, and the overwhelming majority of
drug cases are prosecuted at the state level.

Also, many of those who protest the sentencing disparities have
conveniently forgotten that they were approved at the time by the
Congressional Black Caucus following demands to do something about the
crack epidemic that was ravaging neighborhoods in the 1980s.

Misapplied Victimology

At a town hall meeting in Detroit a few years ago, comedian Bill Cosby
put proper perspective on this sentencing imbalance.

'OK, we even it up, let's have a big cheer for the white man doing as
much time as the black man. Hooray!' joked Cosby. 'Anybody see any
sense in this?'

Then he got serious and asked the audience why more of the sentencing
protesters weren't out on the stump lecturing about the evils of drug
selling and its corrosive effects on communities struggling to
revitalize themselves.

Then again, that would require some introspection, which has been
sorely lacking.

Drug-Dealing Is Never OK

If the court decides in favor of giving judges discretion in
sentencing for crack trafficking, it would be a victory for equal
justice. At the same time, it will only scratch the surface of what
truly ails us.

Going all the way back to the movie 'Superfly,' a 1972
'blaxploitation' movie that glorified drug dealing, I've heard
numerous bogus excuses and rationalizations for selling narcotics.
It's never OK in my book. Whatever an individual gains from the
activity can't be justified because of the toll it takes: neglected
children, strung-out fathers, battered mothers, women selling
themselves on the street, innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire
of turf battles and residents afraid to leave their homes.

Crack sentencing policy should be reformed, but you'll still have a
hard time convincing me the dealers are the real victims.